Roadshow: Pacheco Pass work will continue for about a year

Q Mr. Traffic Guy, I have been out of town the past several days so I have not been keeping up with your never-ending fight to set traffic things right, and I don't know if you may be on this already but I will take a chance that you are not. Are you aware of the traffic hazards that the contractor working on the current widening over Pacheco Pass near Lovers Lane has created?

Mike Bernal

Morgan Hill

A I'm about to find out.

Q I came through there about midnight one night last week when it was raining and the road was wet and slippery. There were no clear lane markings, poor and inadequate signage and poor instructions about where to drive.

The state is leaving themselves open to a huge lawsuit when the inevitable crash occurs by failing to adequately deal with these safety issues related to this project. If you think I am exaggerating, go out and look at this mess for yourself and then try to imagine driving it in the rain at night.

Mike Bernal

A Road alert. Be careful traveling through here for the next year.

The one-mile stretch of Highway 152 is being widened to make room for a left-turn pocket to Lovers Lane and wider shoulders, with sharp turns straightened out. Work should be completed in a year.

But until then, there will be frequent lane closings. Westbound 152 to southbound Lovers Lane will be closed, as will northbound Lovers Lane to west 152.

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Crews have replaced worn-out striping, and they have installed temporary double yellow stripes in the median and temporary white stripes delineating the road in both directions. In addition, there are temporary K-rails with reflectors. Signs have been installed posting a speed limit of 45 mph.

Q I recently drove back from L.A. and took Highway 46 from Lost Hills to Paso Robles. Much of that highway has recently been widened to four lanes and is attracting more heavy truck traffic. Just east of the James Dean Memorial intersection at Route 41, Highway 46 is two lanes as it crosses some hills. The surface in that section is dangerously cracked and broken, possibly as a result of the greater number of trucks.

I recommend anyone planning on crossing Highway 46 choose a different route until that section is repaired. Are any planned?

Karl Auerbach

Santa Cruz

A Some repairs were made a few days ago, but Caltrans will repave the entire stretch this summer.

Tour of California riders on Highway 46 between Lost Hills and Paso Robles in 2009. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)

Q Will they ever get the construction on Interstate 80 in Sacramento done? This approximately 11-mile stretch has been narrowed down for years. It looks like the majority of the widening is done. Traffic backs up for miles and besides that, it's scary when you're butted up against those cement barriers in the far left lane.

Dixie Sala

A You're going to need more patience. Work is expected to last until the end of 2015. And this date may change depending on how much is accomplished if the schedule changes to accommodate work on nearby Highway 50. A glimmer of hope: Caltrans is looking at opening a fourth lane on east I-80 just over the Sacramento River to help ease traffic.